Henry silliman



H. SILLIMAN.

Straw Cutter.

Patented March 1, 1837;

f. W I79 afar N, VE'I'ERS. Pllohrlithogmplwr. Walllinwn. EC

UNITED srATEs PATENT oFFIoE.

HENRY s'ILLIMAN, or PERRY, NEW YORK.

MAoHIitE FOR ermine srRAw, HAY, d'rHiiR VEGETABLE PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent 1%.: {58, dated March 30, 18 37.

being had to the drawings whichaccompany and make a part of this specification.

Figure 1, is a perspective representation of the whole machine, the body of which, A,

r is cylindrical, and has within it four (or any other number that may be preferred) longitudinal chambers, or troughs, within which the straw, or other article to be out, is placed. The parts marked A, A, are hinged doors, extending the whole length of the trough, to admit the material to be cut; in the machine as represented, there are supposed to be four such doors.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the cylinder, showing the manner in which its interior, including the chambers, or troughs, is formed. The letters a, a, indicate the doors, B, is an interior cylinder, forming the bottom of the troughs; and b, b, I), Z), are partitions extending along the machine, and dividing the chambers from each other. Within the interior cylinder there is a screw nut C, having feathers, or projections, which fit into grooves formed along the cylinder, allowing the nut to traverse backward and forward by the revolution of a screw that extends along in the axis of the cylinder, and fits the nut.

This machine may be operated upon by power applied in various ways, but it will ordinarily be turned by hand, by means of a winch, and pinion, as shown in Fig. 1, where D is a winch, upon the axis of which is the spur wheel E, which meshes into the pinion F, giving motion to the knife, and also to the screw, above mentioned, by which the feeding is to be effected, in a manner to be presently described.

G, is a wheel which I usually, and in preference, make of plank and solid, but it may be made of cast-iron, with arms, or spokes; the cutting knife stands out from the inner face of this wheel, in a manner well known and nuts, in the ordinary manner, I so construct it that it may be slid into its place and removed for sharpening, bymerely sliding it out in the direction of its cutting edge. The ends of the troughs toward the cutting knife are open; and their edges are armed with iron or steel, to sustain the action of, and react against, the cuttin knife.

The straw, or other article to be cut, is forced forward by pistons, or followers, fitting the cavities of the troughs; two of these pistons are shown in Fig. 3. The following is the manner in which they are moved: The pinion F, and alsothe wheel G, are firmly fixed onto a projecting end of the screw which passes through the axis of the innercylinder, and they, of course, revolve together; this screw is seen at H, Fig. 4, F be- 1ng the pinion. C, is the nut, as in Fig. 2.-

d, is an iron rod attached to the nut, and extending from it the whole length of the cylinder; this rod is recurved, as shown in the drawing, and hasupon its opposite end the piston, or follower, J. There are as many .of these rods as there are troughs, each of them being attached to the nut, and having its 7 piston, as described. These rods slide freely through suitable openings in the back end of the cylinder, which is otherwise closed.

Thecylinder A, may be made altogether of wood, and be about four feet long, and eighteen inches in diameter. It is sustained by the standards K, K, which embrace it, and within which it may be turned so as to bring either division uppermost, for the purpose of supplying the troughs.

Operation: In order to run the pistons back for the purpose of sup-plying the troughs, the winch must be turned back. ward, which will cause the nut, and the pistons, to pass to the back end of the machine; the troughs are then filled and the winch turned forward, when the nut and the pistons, and, consequently, the straw, will advance toward the fore, or cutting, end of the machine and the cutting be effected. The different parts are so proportioned that with one knife the straw shall be cut of the great- 7 est length required. Byusing two knives, it will be half that length, and by using three, one third.

Having thus, fully described the 'construction and operation of my machine for cutting straw, hay, &c., I do hereby declare that I do not claim as my inventiomeither of the component parts'thereof, taken inthe rods and pistons, substantially in the 7 dividually; but v manner, and for the purpose, set forth; and

That I do claim isthis I claim, irrespective of any precise -The manner in which I have combined shape, or proportion of parts, intending to 15 5 these parts together so as to produce a mavary these as I may think proper, while I chine essentially new in its mode of operaproduce the same effect by analogous means.

tion' that is to sa I claim the manner of actirig upon the pi fons, by which the straw HENRY SILLIMAN 1 is fed to the cutting knife, or'knives, bythe Witnesses: 10 intervention of a revolving screw, carrying MASON G. SMITH,

a nut backward and forward, and with it HENRY A. SMITH. 

